Detained Armstrong to finally leave Mongolia

Amy Corderoy

But today the Tasmanian family of Australian lawyer Sarah Armstrong, who has been detained in Mongolia for two months, will see their daughter again.

Mum Yvonne Armstrong told Fairfax media her daughter had called her last night from Beijing, after she was allowed to board a plane from Mongolia.

"All I wanted to hear was that she was on a plane," she said.

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She said her daughter was tired after her ordeal.

"She said 'Mum I just need a bit of space'," Mrs Armstrong said. It is expected Sarah Armstrong will stop off in Sydney before boarding a flight to Tasmania.

She was barred from boarding a flight from Ulan Bator to Hong Kong in mid-October because authorities wanted to question her in relation to corruption allegations.

Mongolian officials claimed she might have been a witness to alleged corruption and money-laundering, although details of the case have remained sketchy.

They said Ms Armstrong was wanted over an investigation into the former chief of Mongolia's mining authority, who is suspected of illegally handling mining licences, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

On Monday her employer, SouthGobi Resources, a subsidiary of resources giant Rio Tinto, said Mongolia's Independent Authority Against Corruption (IAAC) had ended its questioning of Ms Armstrong, who is its chief legal counsel.

SouthGobi said the IAAC was continuing its probe into "the divestment of certain SouthGobi licences to third parties" and the "involvement and conduct of government officials" linked to the case.

It gave no other details.

Australia is the biggest investor in Mongolia's mining sector.

It is understood that on Friday Foreign Minister Bob Carr again contacted the Mongolian ambassador to Australia about Ms Armstrong's case.

Senator Carr also flagged the Australian government's concerns when he met the Mongolian foreign minister in November.